#and the non-main characters in general. honestly.

[starfacedstudio]

Hey hey! I've seen your grown up lancer doodles! I have a question, it looks like he has horns

Are they horns?? Or just part of his crown??

ID: A page of sketches featuring an adult version of Lancer from deltarune. The design notably features a fur-trimmed, hooded cape and he has three horns. End ID.

they are in fact horns! The crown fits over top of them :)

[moonlit-bunny]

honestly, I can't think of a single reason to enjoy or tolerate k@t/ang - everything about it gives me the biggest ick. usually I'm not that frustrated by ships, but this one really nags at my "this feels unjust" part of my brain. what likable quality is there?? even before I had any real opinion, I knew it was eugh... the way their interactions were written and shown always made me uncomfortable. "the younger boy has a crush on the babysitter" canonically being the creators' intent for their dynamic is not cute, wholesome or appealing to me whatsoever - particulary when that dynamic never changes throughout the entirety of the storyline, and their fundamental disagreements and conflicts are left unaddressed (to the BOY'S benefit).

the worst part is that the shippers try to make it seem like they're more cognizant of social justice, genocide, interracial relations (especially against zk fans) and a girl's needs. but the thing is, their arguments fall flat because the main character is so clearly the white creators' self insert whose romantic portrayal undeniably gives major "Nice Guy" red flags and treads incel territory: he doesn't need to earn her love - no, he is entitled to it. this is actually anti-feminist messaging and we never saw our girl's needs met in that dynamic. instead, it was him who was one-way benefitting from her mothering (which he wasn't bothered by), and his actions kept pulling her back into that role. in TSR, we see it even more - assuming the worst, lecturing and imposing his beliefs based on his idea of how she should be, not trying to listen or be present when he very well could have due to shared experiences of colonial violence. not to mention the grace, presence and non-judgmental comfort she'd offered him when he lost his bison and lost his temper.

at this point I am reminded that this series was made by white americans, so while the other characters can push the boundaries a little, the main character must be an enlightened boy with a supposedly higher moral conscience (in contrast to the angry, irrational brown girl) palatable to an audience residing in an imperial core (in which the majority of us do not regularly encounter or fight off the horrors of an active genocide). in other words, he unfortunately plays the role of a white man's mouthpiece for lukewarm takes - telling us essentially doing nothing is the correct answer to your loved one learning that an imperial soldier who murdered her family has made no amends and is out there walking free - no haunting, no memory, no consequence.

how does all of this not make one raise an eyebrow? by season 3 I really felt like someone had just thrown a tantrum in the writer's room and that's how we ended up here.

in some ways we got to see a fuller development and journey for zuko: we find zuko confronting his father become a better parallel to her confronting her mom's killer (that he considerately does not bring up on her journey), with both of them overcoming a generational trauma that share the same root cause. maybe we are drawn to this, maybe this feels more gut-wrenching, maybe this makes for a richer character arc because he is not a wide-eyed baby-faced self-insert, journeyed alone, and therefore was not shielded from having to make tough choices (like the main character's s2/s3 final dilemma). to think - his story more closely mirrors Buddha's own origin story! the irony.

it really is mindboggling because there are so many beautiful ways to write a friends -> lovers story, and it doesn't even need to be complicated. (if anyone's read fma, just look at ed/winry - heartwarming, reciprocated, felt natural and earned.)

this one's an unfortunate, utter mess, and season 3 plus the comics and LoK seemed to rub salt on the wound instead of making any meaningful attempts at clarifying previous issues and improving their relations. I just feel like seeing this pair as overall wholesome or something is ignoring certain key moments in the storyline, especially those concerning our girl. you'd really need to AU-ify their dynamic to get to a point where a romantic relationship between them (that is actually mutual) feels right or compatible.

[thewertsearch]

@necrowyrm asked: happy new year!!! enjoy the last little bit of homestuck before act 6! Anonymous asked: You have NO IDEA how much I was looking forward to your reaction to this flash :D @teddy-bearer-of-bad-news asked: a very late congratulations from me for making it this far! i gotta say, saving CASCADE for new year's is probably the smartest thing i've heard all week. may your experience be nothing short of righteous, comrade Anonymous asked: Cascade … Even years latter knowing it almost by heart, every once in a while I will take a little quarter of an hour to rewatch it, Say what you want about Hussie but there is a good reason Homestuck became so iconic. @adeptarcanist asked: The leadup to Cascade was honestly my favorite sequence in Homestuck, and maybe one of my favorites in any media ever? The way the narrative splits apart into all of the different scenes swirling in towards the critical moment, both advancing main plots and finding time to spend a moment of melancholy with characters who’d been left behind (The Jaspers and Nepeta scene :( )… it’s such a strong narrative device, and the tone it generates is impeccable. @calamitascalliope asked: I literally watched the flash again, and it still gives me chills every single time. Welcome to your post-Cascade life. You won't be able to think about anything the same ever again @iris-in-the-dark-world asked: "she looks so cool… but she’s so tragic… but she looks so cool…" has become a brainworm for me. i too love the handmaid's design btw, cascade time has been i think the most anticipated non-personal event of the entire year for me. i'm so excited @publicuniversalworstie asked: I want you to know that I also opened Cascade and started watching with you right after I saw your "oh my god it has chapters" ask, and I finished just as you posted "I will never be the same" !! And I bet lots of other people did too <3 so it's like we all watched it together!!!! Happy New Year and thank you for liveblogging!!!! It's been a pleasure！(and will continue to be) @krixwell asked: I would like you to know that your "Right, we're good to go!" and "oh my god it has chapters" posts were posted right as I was outside watching midnight fireworks ring in 2025 for the Central European timezone. Happy new year! @captorations asked:

hey remember when rose just up and fucking said that. anyway congrats on reaching cascade! it absolutely wrecked me back in the day, i think i stared at those flaming curtains for a solid ten minutes as my brain permanently reconfigured. the first few notes of the track alone still give shivers. getting your reaction to cascade was a wonderful birthday present. (speaking of getting older: aradia 🤝 dulcinea also got that "distressingly short lifespan only to die early anyway" story thread going on. the parallels are paralleling.) anyway happy new year and congrats you are… slightly less than halfway done with homestuck. have fun!

Hey, guys. Cascade was so fucking good.

Like, there's really no competition; this is the best Flash page in the comic thus far. Peak music, peak animation, and absolutely a peak narrative. It tied up mountains of plot threads, providing complete answer to questions we're been asking for literally thousands of pages. It completed over a dozen arcs, both big and small. It made me gasp three times in fourteen minutes. It let Jade become a furry.

11/10, and I'm glad people had as much fun here as I did on New Year's Eve. Happy 2025, and happy Act 6!

@morganwick asked: Sally, predicting Cascade: "I have approximate knowledge of many things." @morganwick asked: "You literally have the whole world in the palm of your hands." -Sally to Jadesprite, December 16, 2024 (You might also want to reread post/770701212350857216 in light of recent developments.)

Hah!

I mean, based on her powerset, it made sense that Jadesprite would do something like this eventually, but it's pretty funny that she did it more or less immediately.

And in the end, CD really was a tricky little bastard. We'll definitely need to keep a closer eye on him, next time around.

Anonymous asked: Take a moment to consider that if anyone were to use the Homestuck website as it stands now instead of the Collection program, Cascade would have been presented in the YouTube player in Standard Definition, artifacted to hell, with a clear boundary showing the dimensions of the video from the very start. Preservation is so important.

Jeez, you're not kidding. The 1080p is fine, I guess, but it certainly doesn't hit like the Flash version does, especially with its lack of moving panels.

I know something had to change when Flash kicked the bucket, but surely there was a better way to preserve the video's soul.

Anonymous asked: to give you some of an idea of what homestuck fandom looked like during this time period, im cribbing from a very popular homestuck post: “first, this upd8 was something that we had been waiting for for WEEKS. A literally unprecedented wait period at the time. We were used to suckling at the teat of daily updates, a constant stream of conversation and plot twists and buildup, and as EOA5, we were finally going to figure out what all these countdowns and plot threads and disconnected elements were building up for. And when the progress bar reached 100%, and when the page FINALLY loaded on 10/25/11, it was chaos. This was 2011, a primetime peak point and growth period of Homestuck fan density.” (…) “MSPA crashed, as it had started to during the last few big [S] updates. Hussie had already bought new servers in advance, but even when allegedly thousands of dollars were spent it couldn't handle the accidental DDOS attack of Homestuck fans. People were up all night waiting for this upd8, the curiosity was killing me. I know at some point he was receiving at least 1 million unique visitors per day to his site [correction: according to Hussie’s tumblr, upwards of 2 million during this time], and even though Hussie had foreseen such traffic and thusly hosted [S] Cascade on Newgrounds, a dedicated video streaming site, Newgrounds was similarly unprepared for the sheer amount of people frantically mashing the play and refresh buttons, and also crashed. Immediately. MSPA and Newgrounds crashed definitively for at least two nights in a row” (…) “Andrew Hussie has gone on record to say this was one of the few times he thought Homestuck wasn’t worth it, because the sheer unbelievable cost (was it $10,000?) [correction: according to Hussie’s tumblr, it looked like it was going to cost $100,000 to keep [S] Cascade up for several days] of servers and the chaos of no one able to see the upd8 and crashing nearly every site after. He was tweeting during the whole debacle, stating he was reluctant to put it up on Youtube because of all the moving elements of the flash, and style, and how youtube degraded the quality of the file size, and how he tried to scratch out buffer time and pauses by putting periods of silence between each section of the 14 minute upd8, the longest upd8 yet” “So after Newgrounds patooted, he didn’t put it on youtube and instead put up the entire flash file on Megaupload, where it could be downloaded in it’s entirety to be watched. UNFORTUNATELY, Megaupload also crashed very quickly, which Hussie felt much headache over. But before that happened I managed to get the file, since I happened to be up very early that night! Next it was on dropbox, which didn’t crash but had “link unavailable” on and off. ”Spoilers were flying everywhere, people didn’t understand everything that had happened, and by the time the timeline of events in and out of [S] Cascade was all straightened out, people became even MORE hype. Like this whole thing lasted at least four days, and on top of that, the upd8 was good. Fandom exploded.” it is impossible to quantify the experience. The fact hussie was going to have to fork over A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS to host it is crazy. I am never going to be over it.

Cascade's complete obliteration of the Flash-hosting internet says a lot about huge Homestuck truly was - but I think an even bigger indicator of the comic's success is the fact that Hussie dropped literally thousands of dollars on server upgrades to host the thing. That's not an investment you make unless you're expecting some serious returns.

[zzthekaiju]

So...Lumi's out

First of all, my initial thoughts:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT'S PEAK! GO WATCH IT NOW, THE REST OF YOU! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!

Okay, how about a bit more detail.

Let me get something out of the way here. The fact that this pilot is mostly an animatic as opposed to a fully-completed animation...is an absolute non-issue, and in fact a blessing. We need to take this mindset of "if it's not as crisp and borderline industry standard-looking as something like Hazbin or Lackadaisy then it doesn't deserve attention", put it in a casket, and BURY it so far below the ground it makes the remains of Precambrian lifeforms jealous.

Besides, the animatic release of the recent indie pilot, "Pretty Pretty Please I Don't Want to Be a Magical Girl" is absolute proof that you don't NEED to have a fully completed episode to wow others (Seriously, we all need to thank @kianamaiart for being such an inspiration). You just need a good concept, endearing characters, a ton of effort on full display, and a can-do attitude.

Lumi delivers on all of those fronts.

First of all, Evan Besser, AKA @starteas, needs a titanic pat on the back for releasing this during Autism Acceptance Month. Because simply put, speaking as someone on the spectrum, this is a cartoon made by autistic people, for autistic people.

Take main character Siona for instance. Aside from being canonically autistic, she really feels like the neurodivergent experience personified. She has really niche interests, tons of knowledge/enthusiasm regarding said interests, and struggles with expressing that in a society not quite built with people like her in mind. It's quite relatable when you think about it.

Other major autism-coded aspects include just the fantastical setting/characters in general and the themes of finding acceptance and belonging via friends. I'm not going to act like a total expert on the matter, but I do speak from experience.

Now what about the pilot itself? Well, what can I say except it's everything I wanted it to be?

Ah, I can do it in note form:

-I...did not expect to sympathize with Hala like I did by the pilot's end. I don't want to give anything away, but my opinion of her did a complete 180 upon seeing the big twist. From "you are terrible" to "you don't deserve this, but you're out of control". Impressive!

-Siona is such a treasure throughout. Just a cute kindhearted autistic slug girl doing her best. I vibe with her immensely. She'd be my favorite character if not for someone else having that title.

-Davin...what can I say, I've been in love with this character's design and personality since Day 1, and they did not disappoint. It was heart-melting seeing them being so supportive and close with their best friend. Their hugs are just so casual and warm and aughghghgh...I wish I could be more like them.

-Holden kind of felt like he was constantly skirting the line between "lovable rogue" and "unconcerned brat", but we don't watch these things for everyone to be squeaky-clean, now do we? Either way, I like the dynamic he provides with the others.

-I know I've spent the longest time bullying Felicity for being the typical rich brat, but I was honestly surprised by how emotionally vulnerable she turned out to be. Yeah, she still has the hallmarks of characters I detest, but I ADORE how it's shown right out the starting gate that she's capable of being a multi-dimensional person who clearly has a lot of baggage AND is capable of being a good person.

-Mika is NEVER going to beat the simp allegations. And he sounds like Hermes from "EPIC: The Musical". He's hilarious and I love him for that.

-Lumi...OH MY GOD THEY'RE SUCH A LITTLE BABY THEY'RE SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't take it, they were so adorable with the smallness and the "pyu" noises and the way Siona is so gentle and welcoming with them. The way they bond with Davin is a major bonus as well.

-...yeah, this whole pilot is basically "Exhausted parents give their gremlin son a little sibling while aggravating the royalty". I will accept no counter-arguments.

-Spoiler alert but, to a certain character I thought I was going to support every step of the way...

If you know, you know.

-I should also note that the expressions in this thing are just as funny as they would have been fully-animated, if not funnier. Below are the ones that had my sides hurting from laughter:

-Background aliens were really neat, some REALLY amusing Easter eggs if you know where to look. But I find it rather hilarious that one of the aliens is literally Just A Penguin. Reminds me of the bear gag from "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

Altogether...I'm so happy to have been a part of this journey. As some of you probably know, I've done a sizeable amount of fan-arts/fan-comics for this show since I really started getting into it last year. I've worked really hard on them, and I'd highly recommend you check them out (plus for those of you who want to dub the comics I've done, you are VERY welcome to do so provided you give proper credit and such).

But this isn't about me. This is about the artist who has inspired me and undoubtedly so many others. Evan, if you're reading this, I want you to know that you have come SUCH a long way, and I am more than glad to have discovered you and known you as a fellow artist. You may have your doubts and your resignations, but you need to look at where your hard work has gotten you. You've made something that not only radiates creativity and charm, but helps neurodivergent people like us feel more seen than ever. You and your crew(mi) deserve every bit of praise and support you've received and more, and I don't think the latter could have done this without you at the helm. And it's paying off in ways you probably couldn't even imagine. That writing gig you got at none other than Glitch Productions is a clear indicator that the next generation of animation is looking upon you with a bright smile and a guiding hand towards the future.

So rest for awhile. You've more than earned it. Maybe the wait will be short, maybe it'll be long. Either way, when you're ready to once again break out this amazing great big galaxy you've crafted, we'll all be there there. And until then, we'll support whatever decision you make.

You're gonna truly rattle the stars, one day.

(Oh, and I'm going to be making a Vo Memes -style tribute video with some help over the week, just thought I'd let you know that).

[wei-ying-kexing-apologist]

Random QL Superlatives: 2024 Edition

Well I see @lurkingshan started the trend, so I better hop on

Most Heartbreaking Use of Weather: Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

I am going to be honest. Korea really fucking came for my throat with multiple shows that wielded weather as a weapon against my emotional state. But Hwang Da Seul absolutely wins the award for destruction of my very soul via snow. I swear to god every time it snowed in this fucking show I was losing my mind over the scene that played out before me. First it was doorways that crushed me (shout out to To My Star 2), and now it’s three snowflakes on Do Hoe’s cheek. 

Most Emotionally Charged Inanimate Object: Ossan no Pantsu ga Nandatte Ii Janai ka (aka No One Cares for an Old Man’s Underwear)

gif by @avorbl

Not a BL but one of the most important stories involving queerness of the year imo. When Makoto went back to that store to buy that wallet for Kakeru I kid you not I spontaneously erupted into tears. This was not the first nor the last time that this show made me bawl like a hungry newborn, but it for sure was one of the best indicators that Makoto was not only beginning to accept, but internalize and reshape his worldview to be more loving and accepting of difference. 

Most Realistic Fight Between a Lawyer and Henchmen: Doku Koi: Doku Mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (aka Love is Like a Poison)

gif by @conscbgb

Step aside Matthew Murdock! There’s a new lawyer in town and he absolutely cannot fight for shit! Honestly an iconic moment in this show to see Shiba Ryo take an offensive stance and then immediately get his ass beat in to the ground because he’s a fucking lawyer, not a goddamn superhero. Also it gives Haruta a wonderful little opportunity to show off his skills and to save his loser boyfriend who loves him. 

Most Important Hand Flex Since Pride and Prejudice (2005): The Trainee 

gif by @namtanlovesfilm

HELLO! I THINK WE MOVED PAST JANE’S DESK GRAB A LITTLE TOO QUICKLY! Seriously, not only was it a great hand scene in general (which you know I live for) but it was also a quick and easy way to demonstrate 1) Jane has feelings for Ryan and is trying to hold back and 2) Jane understands the inherent power imbalance between him as an AD and Ryan’s boss and Ryan as an intern. Zero points for Judy.  

Best Creepy Smile: Dead Friend Forever

gif by @lilitblaukatz

HI HELLO I’M ALREADY YELLING AGAIN! BARCODE! BARCODE TINNASIT! As disappointed as I was with the way DFF ended, I was blown out of the fucking water by Barcode’s performance as Non. From KinnPorsche to here that boy has grown astronomically as both an actor and singer, and I’m really proud of him. He had to navigate a lot of different emotional centers with some incredibly terrible things happening to his character. He was able to make Non extremely sympathetic and also creepy as hell! Be On Cloud lost out big time with Barcode leaving the company. 

Best Use of a Dildo: Knock Knock Boys

gif by @pharawee

Honestly for all the BLs that include sex, we rarely get the acknowledgement that sex toys exist, much less the actual usage of said sex toys. I loved that Almond visited a sex shop, purchased a dildo, and that we got to watch a scene of him attempting to use it. This show was honestly the biggest surprise of the year for me in terms of enjoyment. I wasn’t even really interested in this show but love Seng and wanted to support his work and then this was absolutely delightful and honestly Almond and Latte stole the show for me. Good job boys!

Best Distinction Between Reality and Fiction: BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashta: Crank Up Hen! (aka I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama)

gif by @itagakimizuki

Full offense to a particular corner of fan culture, the way that the boundaries between real life and fiction have been known to blend when it comes to emotional bonds between fans and famous people can be very toxic and genuinely dangerous to the health and safety of everyone involved. It is difficult for me to think of a show that made me laugh as hard, as loudly, or as often as I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama did, and yet it included one of the most innocuous but brilliant lines of the year when Akafuji realized that his feelings for Aoyanagi were Real and that he could not have those feelings and continue to think of himself as Aoyanagi’s fan. Iconic. 

Best Use of Subtle Foreshadowing: Love for Love’s Sake 

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Shout out to the sound of water, shout out to some of the opening visuals, shout out to red rimmed eyes, and video game malfunctions that increased as time went on, and shout out to Tae Myung Ha being absolutely drenched after running through the school. Not only were the performances commendable throughout but the story itself was phenomenally supported by hair and makeup, sound, and special effects. I beg you all never to forget the importance of those that work behind the scenes, because goddamn did so much of this show suddenly get darker with context.  

Best Backing Track to Hear Over My Tears: Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna (aka She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat)

Kasuga sitting alone in the darkness of her own car, calling her father and officially, permanently severing ties with her father because she has found her strength thanks to the people she currently has in her life was such a highlight of this year. And of course they really drive the stake through my heart by lifting that entire scene up by having Kasuga walk out of the lonely dark and into warm companionship with fucking ‘Chosen Family’ by Rina Sawayama and Elton John playing in the background. WHAT A PERFECT SONG CHOICE! I am about to cry just thinking about it. Also, I definitely totally did not pause in the middle of typing up this post just to rewatch that scene…I don’t know what you’re talking about….

Best Use of Catholicism: Marahuyo Project 

God. This show struck an incredible number of layers when it gave us Archie. The way his grief and his fear and his internalized homophobia caused him to say and do some truly vile, harmful shit to the queer kids on the island was so heartbreaking and real. I have not really gotten the image of Archie’s neck where he’s been scratching at the rosary out of my fucking head since I watched it. This show was beautiful, and brilliant, and full of light and life, and pain, and it included an intersex character which is only the second of the 180+ shows I’ve watched out of Thailand, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Phillipines to have done so. 

Best Use of Internal Screaming: Cherry Magic Thailand

gif by @zhouxiangs

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH)

Best 'Mark Me Down as Scared and Horny' Face: Unknown

Wei Qian was not prepared for the fact that sending Zhi Yuan to the United States only made Zhi Yuan stronger. I want to acknowledge that this show had a chokehold on me almost all the way through the end for being rather heavy, but that I was especially impressed with Modi's performance as Wei Qian. And it must be said that the look of panic in his eyes when Zhi Yuan feeds him the congee is comedy gold.

Gayest Little Run: Love in the Big City

(could not find any gifs of Go Yeong running in the park so please enjoy this lovely gif by @taeminie )

Again this is not a BL but the way my tumblr community has engaged with this book and this show is one of my favorite parts of the entire year and this is still a really important piece of queer media. I really hope Nam Yoon Su wins all the fucking awards for his performance as Go Yeong. He breathed so much life and texture into that character and it was a joy to watch him take this wonderfully difficult and complicated character on such a beautiful emotional journey. Also he fully committed to the gay little run and that alone is award worthy. 

__ Shout out to all the thoughtful, intentional, and beautiful queer shows that got made this year. Please tag me in other superlatives if they get made, I want to see what people loved or connected to in the show offerings this year. Love you, family <3

@bengiyo asked to be tagged in superlatives.

[cripplecharacters]

I am writing a story which includes a Deaf character. She is mostly included via text. As the main character is long distance, autistic and nonverbal. So most of their communication up until the point they meet, is text messages. When they meet, both characters use auslan to communicate.

But for the text, how could / would the Deaf character type? Like auslan translated to words directly, something like 'help I want'. Or more traditional English, like 'I want help'. Or a mixture of auslan syntax and English. Or something else.

Thanks. Oh and I am not Deaf myself. I know some auslan and am learning some more. But I am autistic and nonverbal. If any of that is important to your response.

Hi!

My answer is, it depends.

Someone who grew up with auslan as a first language and little exposure to spoken or written English is more likely to type with auslan grammar than someone who grew up speaking.

Some who grow up in Deaf households will specifically learn written English grammar as a second language from a young age. A character like this will likely type in spoken English grammar. (They may still find auslan grammar more natural!)

A character who grew up deaf but language deprived and non-speaking, who then learned sign language at an older age but still as their first or only language, would likely use auslan grammar.

A character whose first or only language is sign will likely feel most comfortable signing, even to chat. It's honestly very frustrating how long some words are when they take just a second to sign. There are plenty of ways to just send a video rather than text messaging!

I would say from my experience with Deaf people of different backgrounds, here are some common grammar markers in writing:

Spelling errors.

When fingerspelling, the first and last letters along with the general shape of the word are more important than every letter in the correct order. Same ends up happening with written words.

There's also sometimes a difficulty remembering names. Personally I remember name signs very easily (helps that they often relate to a person's appearance or personality!) but actually remembering the person's written name? Very hard!

Plurality and verb tense.

[Note: the following examples are true of ASL and I'm fairly certain auslan as well, but I don't know if they're true in every sign language.]

"I want" is signed similar to "he wants" (only difference is pronoun), and "car" is the same sign as "cars" (clarify plurality through context and descriptors).

In written English it can be a struggle to pick the correct form of a word when they're all the same in sign language!

A character who grew up in an oral environment would likely struggle less with this, though it depends on their exposure to written language.

Slang/Translation.

There aren't good translations for a lot of signs, especially slang. It may be difficult to put those into words.

Reactions especially--like how hearing people say "mhm", there are Deaf equivalents, but they can be hard to represent textually.

Another translation problem is when the sign and the written equivalent don't quite match up. For example the ASL sign "for" can be used in the question "for-for?" which is best translated as "for what?" or "what for?" but will often be written out as "for for?" because that is literally the sign.

To recap: it depends on your character's background what grammar they will use, but if they're a native signer, "perfect" English grammar isn't super likely. Of course there are exceptions to everything I've written, these are just some patterns I've observed :) [smile face]

Mod Rock

[kinardsboy]

Prefacing this by saying i don’t hate Eddie or buddie in any way, im only tagging this as anti buddie so people can filter out criticism on a ship that they enjoy ❤️

This post doesnt really have a specific theme, I’m just kinda rambling here so bear with me lol

Something that has been bothering me for a while about the gay eddie hc, is that at least the canon basis/evidence for it, is honestly a little homophobic? Most often people claim he’s gay because of how he treats women poorly and how many failed relationships he’s been in and I just.. first off have you MET a straight man?? 😭 thats how they are..(For the most part). Secondly it’s a negative stereotype that gay men dont treat women well, so having that be one of your main points to make Eddie gay rubs me the wrong way, especially when it comes from non queer men. The other main point I see is the quote “it feels like a performance” but the thing about that quote is , its taken extremely out of context.

He was literally talking about being set up on dates, being FORCED to date instead of letting it happen naturally. Thats what feels like a performance.

I have never understood why Eddie also cant be bisexual if queer at all. he has been clearly shown to enjoy having sex with women.

And another thing that bothers me is that buddie fans shout all the time about wanting whats best for Buck, and then want him shoved in a relationship with a man that has never treated a romantic partner fairly. Again, this isnt Eddie hate but the guy needs serious therapy. He’s a good friend and a good dad, ultimately hes a good person too but he’s not a good partner and that wouldnt change just because he dates Buck.

Bob’s are constantly forcing a heteronormative role onto Buck, especially when it comes to taking care of Christopher and it just, thats not going to solve anything? Like at all? It really makes me feel like they dont understand mlm relationships at all, and what they look like and how they work, especially based on their reactions to how Tommy and Buck interact.

People probably arent going to like this take, but I see fics or posts that constantly put Christopher as Buck’s 1 priority and I just dont think its true. Dont get me wrong I really enjoy the relationship they have, but if any kid on the show has his highest priority, its Jee. Buck spends so much time with Chris because Eddie needs help, if Henren needed help or babysitting more often Buck would seem close to Denny and Mara as well. Im not saying Buck doesnt care or want to hang out with Chris of course, but I feel like people definitely overplay their relationship to an extreme extent. The same goes for buddie in general, especially these last few seasons I dont see buck and Eddie being any closer than eddie and hen or buck and hen or something. Especially considering in 704 Eddie literally didnt invite him to trivia which he knows (or should know) Buck likes lol

And another thing about Christopher is that they turn him into this buddie love child who is SO obsessed with his dad’s sexuality and its just so weird to me. They completely strip him of any independence and personality and turn him into this buddie advocate, and then put him away when he’s no longer useful or needed. Its ableism. Chris is his own character and his story shouldnt focus around Buddie or his dads romantic endeavors AT ALL.

Anyway if you read all of this thanks for indulging my rambling lol

[thefandomenchantress]

General Thoughts About Eden's Garden

I have, at long last, finished chapter one of Eden's Garden. And I really liked it! While it wasn't perfect, I still really enjoyed playing it and am very glad I got to experience it. Since I wasn't around for the Another fangames, this is the first time I've been able to keep up with a project like this as it's coming out, and it's been really cool.

So, without further ado, let's get started! Project Eden's Garden spoilers below. :)

I'll start with my criticisms, since I don't have a lot of them. Honestly, my biggest complaint has to be the technical issues I faced while trying to play this game instead of watching it. But I'm not going to sit here and pretend making a game is easy by any means, so I don't really hold that against the game, even if it was frustrating.

Plus, I'm an idiot. I sat for like half an hour trying to figure out the Non-Stop debate controls and thinking my WASD thingy was malfunctioning and not letting me switch truth bullets, when there was only one truth bullet I was allowed to use at the time. I was just being stupid and not catching on when it only showed me one truth bullet in the corner, haha. The repeated crashing of my game, however, wasn't my fault. But I was able to get my hands on a work-in-progress low-spec version of the game that stopped most of the crashing and stuff! After that, most issues went away, except for after the trial ended and the after-trial dialog wouldn't pop up, leaving me on a black screen even after a restarted my computer and tried a few more times. But I'm not too unhappy about that, it's not like I was missing any riveting gameplay sections, haha. I could just watch the YouTube version of the execution and stuff.

Other than those technical difficulties on my end, there are only a few actual problems I had with the gameplay, haha. The first being that I am terrible at bullet hell-styled gameplay, apparently, and Argument Altercation kicked my ass in normal mode. I really wish there was a way to switch your difficulty on that, or maybe checkpoints, because after about thirty or more tries of not being able to get past stage three, I gave up and ended up just getting my hands on a save file from after the minigame. I may love videogames, but that does not mean I'm good at them, haha.

As for the actual writing, I don't have too many complaints...I suppose if I had to say something, though, it'd be that some of the characters felt like they didn't have enough to do this chapter. Ulysses is probably the main one I felt this applied to, even if I love him, he didn't give us too much this chapter, other than a lore drop during the pharmacy investigation (His limited screentime didn't stop me from growing attached to him, though haha). Other characters, despite getting a little more screentime, felt like they didn't really develop at all in the grand scheme of things. But I don't want to focus in on this too much, since it's only chapter one and most characters usually don't start having any big changes until a murder occurs. And the disproportional screentime may just be the writing style of Eden's Garden being that they focus on a certain group of characters each chapter, when they have the most relevance. Wenona, for example, feels like she's being set up to be a larger player down the line, even if she wasn't a super major character this chapter.

There was a lot more I liked about the chapter than disliked, though! All the characters really grew on me, for the most part. Well...Almost everyone. There is one character who I'm kinda meh on right now, since I'm not quite sure what they're going for yet. He's entertaining, I like him fine, but he's not quite on the same level as everyone else. And that character is:

Jett.

Honestly, I think the main reason I'm having trouble is just how he treats Toshiko.

Jett, why are you picking on a literal child??? What are you doing??? This wouldn't bother me if I knew an explanation for it that gives cool insight into his character, but as is I'm just kinda annoyed at him for it. Then again, I haven't bothered to experience any of his FTEs yet, so it's possible he gives some sort of explanation for his child-belittling ways there, haha.

The Mark and Jett thing was fine, I'm liking the set-up there. I think the only difference that makes me like the Jett and Mark stuff over the Jett and Toshiko stuff is that Damon actually calls Jett out for not respecting Mark's boundaries, meanwhile no one really reprimands him for belittling Toshiko because of her age. When he shares her blackmail, no one says "Hey, man, that wasn't very cool of you." They just shrug Toshiko's blackmail off and say no one should share anything else. Wolfgang even calls her blackmail a "joke". No wonder Toshiko is so desperate to be respected, everyone but Ingrid is so rude to her (I can forgive Grace, though, because the gremlin bit was the funniest thing in the prologue to me).

Of course, if they end up calling out his behavior towards her later, as well as everyone else's, I'll be happy and probably end up liking him more. His whole never taking off his helmet thing is pretty cool, I'm interested to see where that goes and to see any character development he has. And him and Cassidy's little friendship being established through gaming was fun.

...Writing all this out actually made me appreciate Jett a little more, since I don't think I would be able to say this much about some of the other characters...I mean if I felt something other than passive enjoyment maybe they’re doing something right…

Oh, right, there were other characters this chapter. Let's get onto them!

Damon was just as entertaining as last time, I'm excited to see what happens next with him. Him letting Diana defend herself made it seem like he was going to be more empathic to others and improve, but Eva betraying him might mean he starts trusting the others even less than before.

In daily life, Eva...Might've been my favorite. Don't get me wrong, Kai is still my favorite character overall, but I loved Eva in daily life so much. Her "Bweh..." and "Raaaage..." voicelines are some of my favorites in any fangan and I'm happy I experienced all her FTEs. I loved her in daily life, deadly life was...Still fine and good, the execution was super well-animated and cool. But her being the culprit did sort of undercut my enjoyment a little, since it sort of calls into question the truthfulness of certain aspects of her character that made me like her. Still really cool, though.

Kai was great. I'm going to make a post dedicated to him later, where I'm sure I'll ramble on and on for a while, so for now I'll keep it brief. He was just as funny as last time, surprisingly helpful in the class trial, his large amount of screentime was a pleasant surprise to me, I'm super excited to see if he'll be the new support, and his FTEs were really cool. I'm super hyped to ramble about everything concerning him later.

Ulysses, despite his limited screentime, managed to be pretty charming this time around. Him already telling backstory stuff to us makes me a little worried for if he'll die soon, but oh well. Him literally saying "um, actually" when he starts his objection was great. Toshiko calling him ugly in...the Prologue, I think(?), was blatantly incorrect because I really like his design. There's something about his color scheme that I enjoy, idk. Plus, owls are my favorite animal, so I was pretty much guaranteed to like his theming.

Diana being heavily suspected by the fanbase and then being suspected in-universe in the trial was cool, the whole "choose the culprit" minigame legitimately tricked me into thinking it was her for a hot minute...Until I remembered how much unused evidence we had, haha. Excited to see where she goes from here.

Wolfgang...Damn those sprites in the Diana flashback were cool. I should definitely check out his FTEs to get a little more context, but wow. While I'm not surprised he was the chapter one victim, I'm a little disappointed we'll never hear more from him.

Grace was great, her demeanor is kinda similar to another favorite character of mine, so I've become pretty endeared to her. I'm interested in seeing where the bunny symbolism goes, and how she'll react to Wolfgang being gone. She had no FTEs (her actually responding when I tried to enter her dorm (I was doing an experiment to see if I could enter anyone but Kai's and Damon's) jumpscared me haha), so I'm guessing she'll live a bit longer and receive some character development! Yay!

Wenona was fun, her attitude was as entertaining as ever. She's probably one of the characters I most want to go do the FTEs of, I'm interested to hear more about her.

Desmond and Eloise's friendship was fun, the scene where they try to get Grace to let them in Wolfgang's room was definitely the highlight of both their characters for me this chapter. Eloise standing up for herself during the confrontation and Desmond backing her up without hesitation was awesome. Can't wait to see their friendship expanded on (And Desmond being angsty during the closing argument was hilarious).

Toshiko and Jett already had most of my thoughts laid out above. Jett I've mostly finished describing, but I did like Ingrid and Toshiko's friendship this chapter. Toshiko's whole pretending-she's-totally-not-freaking-out-and-being-actively-traumatized thing was good, I liked how she was desperate to sound smart in the trials, it fits her character.

Mark was a little ruder than I thought he'd be going in, but I'm not complaining. While I don't think anything topped "Grace, call the fire brigade" this chapter, some things got pretty close, like his annoyed facial expression when you agree with him. Him not wanting to be acknowledged at all at the gaming tournament was interesting, I'm excited to see where they take his character.

Ingrid...Was fine. I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed at how my view of her failed to change at all this chapter. Even her blackmail was something we learned in the Prologue already. Still, I can appreciate her. Even if she didn't change much this chapter, I still like what she is right now. She's all-around pretty cool, and I like how she makes sure to defend Toshiko, unlike some characters I know. /j

(Her being called "reliable" made me immediately feel like she might not last long, though... :()

Jean is pretty interesting to me so far, Cassidy suggesting that he might just be posing as a 'pirate' was intriguing. Him saying there was an arcade on his ship made me think of a crack theory that he worked at a Chuckie Cheese type place, but instead of there being a strange mouse, you could hang around at his prop ship and take pictures with him and his "crewmates" (Co-workers or employees) in costume, with an arcade and snack bar nearby...His knowledge of machinery stuff is also cool. I should check out his FTEs.

Cassidy's whole gaming gimmick is cool, and I like her, but I think if I'm being honest, her fun design and awesome voice actor kinda carry her for me. I don't think she'd be one of my favorites to hear speak otherwise. Some of her voicelines are just hilarious by themselves, too, though ("I better zip up my fly, my genius is showing" was my favorite, like what the fuck that is so random and funny and she only uses it once). She's a character who I don't think I'd find nearly as funny if the vocal delivery wasn't as on point as it is, but seeing as it's totally awesome and on point I have nothing to complain about she’s really cool haha.

And those are all my general thoughts on each of the characters. Now onto a few individual moments I really liked!

I replayed the Prologue before playing through chapter 1, and something really cool I noticed was that when they're on the train, this happens after Cassidy says she smells something weird:

I thought it was really cool how they subtly foreshadowed his lack of a sense of smell like that! The devs really thought his character through from the beginning, I suppose.

But moving on to chapter 1, specifically the trial. One detail I really liked was this:

“Near the boiler room door, I discovered a thin piece of metal.”

“During the investigation, there was a strange smell permeating the boiler room. It took me a moment to notice, but when I did…”

Damon takes credit for both the scrap metal and the smell.

This happens very directly with the metal, where he says that he discovered it. While he does admit he didn't think the metal was important before, what he fails to do is give credit to Ulysses for pointing it out to him, since Damon didn't notice it until Ulysses did. And when Ulysses did notice it, Damon berated him for even writing it down. And yet now here he is, pretending that he took note of the piece of metal all by himself.

He also takes credit for finding the smell, albeit slightly less directly. But he still makes it sound like he noticed it by himself, when Jean was the one who had to directly point it out to him. And even then, Damon could only smell the generator at first, and Jean had to further explain what he meant. And Damon pretty much plagiarizes his description of the smell without crediting him, too. You’d think a debater would know how to cite their sources correctly, haha.

So long story short, Damon fails to mention that he got help investigating from both Ulysses and Jean. I find that interesting because even though Damon says he can only rely on himself right before this trial starts, he is actively ignoring that he is only able to steer the trial in the right direction at certain points because of the help he received from others. The game is both proving his point about him only relying on himself (+Eva this trial) wrong, while also letting the player further see his mindset. Pretty cool. (Though I’d honestly be kinda pissed if I was Ulysses haha).

I also really liked Eva this chapter. Legitimately the first chapter death I've been most sad about in any Fangan. Usually I see the fake-out support thing coming a mile away, since it's such a common thing in fangans, but they genuinely fooled me with Eva. I really got attached to her and I'm sad to see her go.

I still haven't really fully processed her character, but what I do know is that she's really cool and relatable and her voice actor is very talented. Her design is amazing. Her sense of humor is immaculate. Overall, amazing character I was devastated to see go.

One cool detail I noticed, in order to commemorate my love for her:

After avoiding Grace, which Damon theorizes was because she didn't want her talent mocked, she investigates the Dining Hall people. And yet, even though she mentions Jett and Mark being unhelpful, she says nothing about Kai.

This could be shrugged off by the fact Kai said something helpful about the footsteps when Damon approached, but since Kai says this info like he hasn't shared it with anyone else, I don't think that's the case. Instead, I think this confirms Damon's suspicion that she is avoiding those who mocked her real talent, since Kai is definitely a jerk about it to her face on at least two occasions. She legitimately just didn't speak with him. That really hits home just how uncomfortable Eva was with a lot of the people in the killing game.

(I'll talk more about this in the Kai post, but Eva not mentioning Kai when you enter the dining hall, and Desmond also not mentioning where he went before that, made me actually start worrying that we were gonna find a second body haha, that's why I noticed this).

Lastly, I'd just like to say:

Even Desmond and Eloise being like "dude no stfu" at Diana in this CG was hilarious and I love it.

[thehollowwriter]

Meet Quinn Fletcher, NRC's Student From Another World

Some Basic Info:

☆Class: 1A

☆Club: None (for now)

☆Favourite subject: Astrology

☆Homeland: A mysterious, magical, and mystical land known as South Africa

☆Species: Human (but an alien according to twst XD)

☆Height: 147cm/4'10

☆Birthday: 6 May

☆Dominant hand: Left

☆Hobbies: Writing, reading, photography, collecting seashells

☆Likes: The ocean/sea creatures, swimming, archery, cooking, nature, movies

☆Dislikes: Being put in charge, people who don't pull their weight, most of the twst cast, being shouted at, liars

☆Favourite food: Quinn loves all kinds of food, so she can't really pick a favourite

☆Least favourite food: Spinach

Personality:

Quinn is very quiet, introverted and non-confrontational most of the time and generally doesn't talk to people unless it's people she likes about something she likes. She seems calm and a bit distant most of the time, but honestly, she just files away/suppresses most negative emotions whenever she's around other people. She dislikes the majority of the twst cast, but looking at her, you couldn't tell.

Since coming to twst, she's seemingly been running on autopilot. Though she tries to be polite and kind, she actually has quite a short temper, but her anger rarely shows around others, though some people do notice and can feel it oozing out of every pore. In general she struggles with very intense emotions and thoughts of violence, but she usually just brushes it off, though rarely when she's alone she'll act out on it (During book 3 she smashed a few mugs and almost threw one at Grim bc she was really really fucking pissed about the situation). She's a pot threatening to boil over atp.

Quinn is a bit naive and not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but she is a good liar and has found ways to manipulate situations to make her life easier, even if that means shifting the blame for something onto someone else.

She's a kind person, though being stuck in twst makes her feel the opposite, and her low self-esteem and myraid of health issues make her think she's not very useful or worth keeping around, though her creativity and her habit of overthinking things makes her good to have around if you want to prepare in advance for emergencies, and whenever she is put in charge of something she's surprisingly good at it.

Appearance:

Quinn is short and pudgy with dirty blonde hair dyed ginger and styled in a wolf-cut. She has grey-blue eyes (that sometimes look green) and pale-ish skin. Her face is dotted with freckles, and she has pretty prominent eyebags. She is always wearing a small silver heart shaped locket she got as a gift from her friend and she also occasionally wears a pair of cat earings.She can often be seen wearing jeans and coats with tons of pockets during the colder seasons and flowery dresses in the warmer ones. Most clothes are too big for her.

Important Things To Know:

☆At some point in the story Quinn stole one of Rook's bows and several of his arrows and though she can't handle it super well since she's a lefty using a right-handed bow, she did it well enough to threaten Ace with it once

☆Quinn got sick on her first night in Ramshackle, and after that, she's been mostly unwell and not doing so hot, especially since she has no access to any of her medicine. Each overblot seems to make it worse.

☆She has started researching the world of twisted wonderland and treats everything around her like a fake, dream-like story. She's just learning the lore. These people are just characters. Everything's fine, and she's going to wake up soon :)

☆Because of how she's currently treating her situation, Quinn comes off as very distant and detached, sometimes even uncaring, even if she tries her best to be polite

☆Quinn avoids the other students and tries to stay uninvolved in everything. She goes to class and she goes "home". Done. But she still gets roped into the main plot in various ways

☆Quinn is aroace

☆Quinn cannot stand Grim and would have kicked him out of Ramshackle if her existence as a student didn't depend on him. Her more aggressive and mean side will come out around him, unfortunately

☆She starts working at the cafeteria and at Mostro Lounge to earn some income. In general one of her ways of coping is by putting her head down and working and thinking about things to do rather than dwelling too much on the situation

'Quinn's Family:

Her mother, father, brother, and sister back in her original world

Backstory:

Quinn grew up with a disabled dad, a chronically sick mom, and two younger siblings. Her mom was very emotionally and sometimes physically abusive and outside of her friends things were pretty miserable and Quinn was almost always exhausted from taking care of most of the duties her mom was either too sick or too lazy to do and basically running the household with her sister. Things were made even more difficult by her family being extremely religious (her grandfather was even a pastor) while she was a queer atheist, and had to hide most of her interests and keep her appearance "acceptable" even if she didn't like it. A huge fight with her mother resulted in her being locked out of the house in the rain as a punishment, and she decided to grab the keys and just leave. It was while she was trekking to her friend's house that she came across the black carriage and woke up at NRC, where she was then burned and scratched during her first encounter with Grim. She's just trying her best to survive at NRC even if she does feel scared and lonely.

Some Fun Facts/Extra Info:

☆Quinn is bilingual and will sometimes talk to herself in Afrikaans so that she isn't understood

☆Quinn doesn't handle crowds super well and gets overstimulated much more easily than usual at NRC

☆She's perpetually exhausted, especially without her iron supplements

☆Quinn really enjoys playing games and can get quite competitive (she does not like losing)

☆Though Quinn generally keeps most thoughts to herself, she will mutter under her breath, and if you can overhear her, it would probably make a sailor blush (she swears a lot lol)

☆Quinn kinda feels like a bad person bc she doesn't miss her family at all. She only misses her friends

☆Quinn loves to learn and always wants to try all sorts of new things

☆Quinn has ADHD and anxiety and is probablyyyy autistic too

☆Quinn would often get in trouble for not being feminine enough and though she isn't trans she does dress more masculine out of spite sometimes (When she does think about it though she may be gender apathetic who knows)

☆Rook eventually got Quinn her own bow and wants to give her lessons bc her archery is, uh, pretty rusty

☆Despite her wariness of the other students, Quinn will take up opportunities to get paid, which is how she got involved in Book 2. She insisted Crowley paid her if he expected her to larp as Sherlock/hj

☆Quinn is almost always listening to music to decompress and keep calm. Takes her mind off things and she gets to vibe y'know

...........................................

A/N: Finally I have a Yuu! She's not super interesting rn but I will be developing her character and adding new stuff to her and her lore as we go along. I hope you guys like her so far!

Tagging: @distant-velleity @br3adtoasty @rainesol @theleechyskrunkly @harryinramshackle

@galaxies-and-gore @cyanide-latte @cynthinesia @officialdaydreamer00 @krenenbaker

@offorestsongs @kitwasnothere @elenauaurs @boopshoops @inotonline

@1dont-really-know @nemisisnemi @minteasketches @elysia-nsimp @skrimpyskimpy

@casp1an @offorestsongs @tixdixl @poisoned-pearls @the-trinket-witch

@ramshacklerumble @ghostiidasponk @thegoldencontracts @sillyslipperybananapeel @cloudcountry

@skriblee-ksk @twstinginthewind @lumdays @theolivetree123 @authoruio @jewelulu

@moonyasnow @skibidibabygirl @quartztwst @yuizenihaswriten @oya-oya-okay

@kirans-wonderland @coffinkissez @idikeis @s-t-y-x @minutewondertwist

@random-twst-and-oc-stuff @creatorbiaze @bunnwich

@tixdixl

[cerastes]

I’ve gotten asks a while ago about my thoughts on those other games but I can’t find them so here:

Wuthering Waves: It has the same strengths and weaknesses as PGR in relation to Honkai: It wants to be Genshin With Good Gameplay so bad that it forgets about everything else. It’s got good gameplay, the systems, the feel, the Nioh 2-esque way you add monster attacks to your moveset, it’s really fun, with a dash of late PGR goodness, like parries (attacking the enemy in precise moments before they launch specific attacks) and cohesive stamina/economy of action balance. Unfortunately, the writing is just so immensely bland and the characters forgettable beyond their One Quirk + Loving The MC that it’s kinda hard to get attached to anyone or anything if you have any standards above No Standards, and it’s all delivered with the charm and prose of a wiki article. Worst offender is Yangyang, who spends the first 60 minutes of gameplay not shutting up about exposition. Devil May Cry if it was Wikipedia out of ten. Designs are pretty nice. Music is very mid, not bad, just mid, which is disappointing coming from the devs that brought us Narwhal. Overall it’s pretty ok and if gameplay is all you care about and you dig it, you’re going to have a good time.

Zenless Zone Zero: If it’s Hoyo, it’s got production values, and that is true for ZZZ, it looks phenomenal, and frankly, I had a pretty good time playing it, so congratulations to Hoyo for making the first game of theirs I don’t hate. Characters are pretty fun and dynamic, it certainly tries with how not everything is about combat, and delivers a pretty cohesive package, all things considered. Biggest complaint would be that it’s still Hoyo on the wheel, so they are god awful greedy with horrible rates on pulls and expensive top-ups. Second biggest complaint is that the main meat of the gameplay, the combat, is pretty barebones; it does a phenomenal job making it look stylish (and I mean that, it’s not a backhanded compliment) and cool, but combat all boils down to dps racing with very basic gimmicks, even if sometimes entertainingly skill demanding (Soldier’s just frame attacks, Alexandrina’s doll management). Writing is very charming, actually, the plot isn’t trying to be super Deep And Complex off the gate and wants you to get to know (thus, care about) the characters through smaller, simpler lead ins onto their bigger plot, and characters don’t exist entirely to tell you how much they love you and how you are the center of the universe, which is pretty cool. So, yeah, I’m actually saying something positive about a Hoyo game, pretty nice integrated package.

NIKKE: Nikke honestly blew my mind, it looks like a maximum coomer game — and in many ways, it is — but the plot twist is that it’s a charming maximum coomer game with plenty of other things going for it. It’s a game where “mixed bag” is used positively: The setting is as generic and braindead as they come, Things Were Nice Until The Threat Attacked, Only The Hottest Women Can Stop Them (And You Are The Only One That Treats Them Well). But then your starting crew is basically anime girls Ed, Edd, and Eddy, legitimately a really fun crew. Events either are — intentionally — simple but fun and low stakes character studies, or higher stakes storylines that usually land. The music direction is also REALLY good: Normal stages have very utilitarian music that is just a compliment to the sounds of combat, boss themes do a 180 and are full of personality and pretty memorable, Ominous Cross lives rent free in my mind. My only complaints is that I personally dislike models where you NEED multiple copies of a character to truly realize their gameplay potential, and Nikke sadly has this, the skill ceiling is pretty low and it all comes down to a numbers game/dps race, and non-boss enemies are pretty uninspired. In fact, battles are just… Really not fun, and where the game shines, boss battles, are really also not that good either. Honestly, the only thing that kept me from sticking with the game is the low skill ceiling, and in a world where Nikke had tighter gameplay, I still play it. On a more personal note, I sincerely love the designs, first and foremost Scarlet Black Shadow.

[celestial-prime]

Transformers Franchise is dying...

In the past few days, some Transformers fans and influencers, including myself, are saying that the Transformers Franchise is dying... and unfortunately, they're right.

The Transformers franchise is slowly dying, and there are even rumors that by 2027, it might stop producing comics, merchandise, toys, literally, they will shut it down completely and stop everything. Which is terrifying. I had already been predicting this since last year, but many people couldn't see it, only now are they starting to realize it.

Transformers One was supposed to be the movie that would REVIVE the franchise, bring it back to life. But unfortunately, it failed miserably. After that flop, Hasbro stopped funding projects related to the franchise. And because of that, Transformers: Reactivate was also canceled, which worried a lot of people, including myself. I truly believed that Transformers One and Transformers: Reactivate were their last chances to bring the franchise back to the top.

But honestly, Transformers has been facing flop problems for a long time. And when I say a long time, I mean nearly seven years! In my opinion, the main cause of this seven-year downfall was Transformers: The Last Knight. I spent years defending that movie, but it was only last year (around August, I think, I don't really remember) that I finally realized how garbage and horrible it really is. That film caused massive damage to the franchise. The movie was so messy, disgusting and awful, that many fans lost interest and gave up on Transformers entirely.

Even though the Bumblebee movie and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts tried to save the franchise, they didn’t succeed, mostly because of the damage The Last Knight had already done. By the end of last year, with all the cancellations going on, I basically started leaving the franchise behind. I’m no longer keeping up with news or leaks. I’ve even stopped sharing fanart and memes here on this account and on my other social media.

The only thing I’m somewhat aware of now is that there’s a new comic series, where Optimus has Megatron’s arm in a weird, crazy storyline. That’s the only ongoing content I know about. There are also rumors that they want to make a new Transformers series, but once again, it’s supposed to be a kids' show, which won’t attract much attention from the general audience.

So unfortunately, Transformers is heading down a dark path, and I don’t think there’s a way back. Making movies? Out of the question, the franchise already has too many, and it’s oversaturated. Making series? Same problem. If I’m not mistaken, there are over nine Transformers series now, and each one has a different timeline and continuity. That’s another major issue with Transformers: too many universes, with no clear or official timeline like Generation 1 had.

The last series released was Transformers: Earthspark. I liked the first season, but from the second and third, everything went downhill. Even the first season already flopped due to numerous controversies, especially the one about Nightshade being a non-binary character. Their attempt to include diversity in Transformers made a lot of fans, especially parents (since it's a kids' show), really mad. The viewership dropped after the episode where Nightshade revealed their gender identity.

You can also see the drop in animation and graphic quality starting from seasons two and three. As much as I loved the dynamic of Megatron being an Autobot and really close to Optimus (I actually think the MegOp ship is semi-canon in that series), it wasn’t enough to draw in a bigger audience. And again, it’s still a kids’ show.

In my opinion, what could save the franchise is launching a new game, but one made in partnership with a giant game company. For example, FromSoftware, which is known for creating some of the best open-world games with deep stories and epic adventures. There are also countless other studios out there that could make a deal with Hasbro to buy the rights and develop a game. If done right, this could bring the franchise back to life. But honestly, the chances are slim because of Transformers’ bad reputation, mostly thanks to Michael Bay.

Not only that, but the franchise is also extremely saturated when it comes to storytelling. No matter the game, series, or movie, it’s always the same thing: Optimus Prime vs. Megatron, Autobots vs. Decepticons. And whenever a new project comes out, it’s set in a completely different continuity or universe. Meaning: Transformers doesn’t follow a consistent, canonical timeline anymore. The last time we had that was with G1 and some comic runs. Every other new series, movie, or game has had a different universe, with different stories and different origin tales.

This makes the franchise very saturated and confusing, because fans can’t keep up and don’t even know if what they’re watching is canon or not. The only things I was still enjoying from Transformers before stepping away were the film trilogy, a few of the series, and some comics, and that’s it.

Another thing they could do is create a new series with the same tone and quality as Transformers: Prime, but even more serious. Transformers: Prime was incredible, and they wasted so many elements, like Silas, who had so much potential to be a great villain in seasons two or three. They could’ve explored more powerful Cybertronian relics too. But because each episode was expensive to produce, the third season was super short, and the movie wasn’t long either.

To me, Transformers: Robots in Disguise doesn’t even exist, it was that bad, a complete disaster. But anyway, those are my thoughts. Only God knows if Transformers will ever rise again. Even though Transformers One is being called one of the most-watched movies on Prime Video and there's talk of making a trilogy, I still don’t think it’ll be enough to save the franchise, especially because of the massive retcons and reboots. (Transformers One is supposedly a complete reboot of the entire franchise). A lot of fans, especially the nostalgic ones, didn’t like that at all. Many of them prefer the original version over the new one.

So yeah... those are my thoughts. I’m out of the loop now, and I don’t plan on coming back, because Transformers really is dying. And that’s why I chose to step away, I just can’t bear to watch one of the franchises that shaped my childhood die out completely. That’s why I’ve been more into other franchises now, like Sonic, and FNAF, which I’ve followed since the beginning, but now I’m back to being more active in it, along with other series as well.

Anyway... that was my rant. I’m leaving Transformers behind by choice, because I don’t want to suffer watching it fall apart.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

On the topic of EAH and Twst I can't help but think about how it would translate to the rivalry between NRC and Royal Sword Academy. Like, there would be a whole school for the heros and another for the villains. I wonder if it would also make the general population see the NRC students as evil and murderers or something

[Referencing this post and this post!]

I guess that might be including elements of The School for Good and Evil then? Those tack on a lot more social discrimination based on what your role is labelled (either “good” or “bad”). Raven Queen in EAH does experience ostracism from her classmates due to her mother’s legacy, but plenty of people in the main cast treat her like a normal classmate rather than someone to be wary of. In SFGAE (and even Disney’s own Descendants), there is a lot more overt hatred and discrimination of those deemed villains.

The concept of separate schools could mess with the roster of NRC students by separating unclear villain characters or non-villain characters out. For example, Kalim, Rook, and Silver are “good” characters. Jack has no clear inspiration, so he isn’t exactly a “bad” wolf unless you specifically assign him a destiny as one (such as the Big Bad Wolf). It could also be argued that “minion” characters like the card soldiers aren’t truly “bad” because they’re operating under an even greater evil. Strict categorizing and sorting into schools based on that might be more difficult than you’d think. I think I’d at least want one campus as a shared space for everyone to interact.

I think it how the public perceives the students would differ based on the severity of the destiny, honestly. Some might think of them as murderers but others might just assume they’re spiteful or unpleasant (or will be someday). If you’re fated to kill someone then surely you’d get more harsh judgment than someone who… I dunno, stole some tarts. In any case, the bulk of it wouldn’t be anything positive. I feel like that’d create this environment where the average NRC student feels like they have to fend for themselves (since the public sure isn’t supporting them), which leads into them coming across as independent and arrogant, which only goes on to confirm people’s preconceived notions of them, etc. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and that’s something else they have to break free from.

[therealdesastrffxivpast]

I submitted a suggestion to FFXIV Forums

HERE IT IS:

"I adore FFXIV, but one of the things in this game that is extremely grating is the how alt-unfriendly it is.

I realize people use the excuse of 'we can use all jobs on one character', but that honestly does not appeal to me in the slightest. Most jobs do not work for my character, who I write stories about and roleplay. This same situation applies to most glams, pets, and mounts.

The ironic thing is, I would do far, far more in this game if only it were more alt friendly. I would likely actually try to dive into more extreme PvE content, but as it stands now, it simply is not worth it. A lot of content just does not fit for this character, yet she is meant to remain my main, and I want to do the content on her.

I do not have enough time or want to level up and get through the story on every single alt I want to write a story about, and to have to grind everything out a second time, it makes collecting in this game for people like me pointless.

Therefore, I propose an idea: All mounts should be shared. All hairstyles should be shared. All minions should be shared. In the case of glams, might I suggest a special storage chest that is account bound, allowing you to swap glams to your alt? Quite like 'transmog collections' in other games (and mounts/pets being shared in general).

If the above is considered unreasonable - I think it is fair to at least say we could farm everything multiple times, BUT on a main which then could provide the item to the alt.

Example: A glam drops, you can only use it on one character, but you can transfer it to a different character even if it doesn't apply to the one you got it on.

Example 2: I get a mount drop on this character, don't really want it on this one, put it in my chest to give it to an alt.

Example 3: I have a mount collected already, but get another drop, so transfer it to a different character.

Example 3 would also encourage people to farm even more, because there would be a point to getting multiple drops, as we'd be able to give them to alts.

Please at least consider something like an account bound chest, thank you!"

THOSE WHO WANT ALT FRIENDLINESS IN THE GAME - We'd have to bring it up on the forums, or get the word out there more via Twitter. I use the hashtag #altfriendlyxiv or #altfriendlyffxiv.

Something as simple as being able to mail alts & all shop items being account bound rather than just the non-holiday mounts would be great, in the very least. (Aside from the boosts, obviously.)

The suggestion I had someone leave on the forums is linked here.

[the-starry-seas]

since I have a lot of Star Wars mutuals now: if you like Mandalorians, then you're gonna love Killjoys

(or if you like multifacted badasses who are queer, female, or characters of colour? antiheroes? found family? messy complicated relationships? ordinary people being drawn into stopping the galaxy from being destroyed? character-focused sci-fi in general?)

main characters are a trio of bounty hunters running from their pasts, who have a rather vague grasp of 'strictly obeying the law' and 'the greater good', and a very strong grasp of 'I love these people so much I would die for them'

honestly this is less a "these characters set out to save the galaxy" story and more a "these characters set out to save their loved ones which means ending a threat to the galaxy" story

two main characters put each other above everything else and explicitly state they are not romantic, meaning that a queerplatonic relationship is central to characters and plot

the entire overarching plot hinges on the depth of the love that the characters feel for each other, and how far they're willing to go to protect the people they care about

female characters are nuanced, messy, three-dimensional people. they're addicts, bounty hunters, warlords, scientists, and doctors. they're traumatised, cunning, sarcastic, intelligent, protective, and driven. no sexy lamps here!

characters of colour are intelligent and badass, aren't undercut to make white characters look better, and have character arcs that make sense and give them more depth

queer characters are written as full-fledged characters instead of stereotypes and are central to the plot, like my beloved gender-non-conforming warlord and bartender Pree

characters with trauma and PTSD are portrayed in a realistic way, and even when that means they cause problems or can't step up to help their team, they aren't belittled by other characters as weak, lesser, or crazy

apparently-stereotypical asshole characters have emotional depth and character arcs. they're smart, capable, and ruthless, but also care about the people around them and are troubled by the tough calls they have to make

there are real, long-lasting interpersonal consequences of various' characters shitty behaviour. when a shitty parent joins the good guys' team and tries to make amends, their family isn't pressured to forgive or forget what they did.

even characters who only show up in one or two episodes are well-written and memorable, and save the day instead of being there to make the main cast look smarter, stronger, or cooler

I need to give a bullet point to my beloved canon lesbian ship in which two antihero rulers decide to be weird and obsessed with each other, kill a bunch of people along the way, and generally enjoy making each other worse

as the cherry on top, there are fifty episodes across five seasons! the show says everything it wants to and comes to a conclusion with all the loose ends wrapped up! much different from today's wasteland of 'one six-episode season and then cancelled on a cliffhanger'.

[creptolli]

König Headcanons/Opinions

A/N: Because I want views to share my truths. (These are just my opinions/headcanons you don’t need to share them - I hate mildly dislike the character so I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people who like him don’t like these 🧍‍♂️)

No smut because I really don’t like König - but there will be some romantic ones. (Because he’s overrated lmao)

@medic--main

Random Headcanons:

- Used to have terrible coordination when he was a kid. Like, fully stumbling everywhere. He could not walk in a straight line at all, he literally looked like a drunk at the age of 12. It only disappeared when he reached mid-teens, but he was still constantly teased about it. It was probably because when he was a kid his proportions were really off due to him growing so large and at such weird intervals.

- When he was in school, he was learning 3 languages. German (obviously), English, and he chose to do Chinese (Mandarin). He kept it for a good while, but had to drop Chinese a couple years before he joined the Military as it was just too much for him academically. He was fairly good at it as well, but he was one of the only students :/

- Has been called Australian so many times in both his civilian life and military life whenever he’s overseas or with other/multi nationality based groups (e.g. KORTAC). He hates it. Australians hate it. It is not hard to distinguish and he will die on that hill 🫡

Romantic Headcanons:

- He is objectively huggable. Insanely, even. Because of his size, he can fully wrap around his lover like a bear. He’s the bed, stuffed animal and pillow all in one. Like one huge, luxurious, very warm sleeping bag.

- He loves getting his lover flowers (masc or femme), because he loves flowers. He honestly buys them partially for his lover.. mostly for himself. He will absolutely melt if you buy him flowers though. Especially his favourites, Pulsatilla Alpina.

Also if you like König or Ghost.. or CoD in general, follow @medic--main (trust me, she’s as insane as you are… if not more)

Opinions:

@medic--main - stop reading

These are my opinions, like… don’t take them seriously. I don’t even take them seriously, cause idc how people portray him since I genuinely do not read any content for him🧍‍♂️🥖

- first of all, I hate how people make him seem so.. in both the sexual and non-sexual way, submissive. Sure, idk if it’s canon or not because I really don’t pay attention to him, but it’s so annoying how anxious everyone makes him. Sure, if he canonically has anxiety, it makes some sense. But the fact is even then, people over exaggerate it so much. It’s just annoying.

- there is no fucking way he’s 6’10. I say 6’7 at the most.

- he’s incredibly overrated. I still don’t understand why. I mean, people can like whoever they want, I just genuinely don’t know why so many people like him.

I might add more if I remember, because there is quite a lot I don’t like about him lmaoo.

Again, don’t take these seriously. I’m just a rando on the internet, like whatever characters you want 🤷‍♂️

[beevean]

gonna try the hot take ask game!

let's see... Sonic has never had an extremely rigid philosophy about not killing bad people to give them another chance. It's a blatant misunderstanding of how Sonic represents freedom to interpret him as believing everyone should be free indiscriminately.

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

It simply doesn't exist in the games. There is not one scene of Sonic coming close to killing someone, only to pull back at the last minute. He's not a bloodthirsty Punisher, but he also has no qualms about stopping enemies, one way or another.

In fact, just ask Erazor Djinn how merciful Sonic is! Oh, wait, you can't. He's drowning in lava because Sonic trapped him there :P and let's not forget how he lowkey threw a death threat at Infinite when he talked about hsi epitaph.

Point is, Sonic's only principle if you want to call it that is his desire to help people in need. But it's not a rigid rule he lives by. There is no way he'd ever say "I want to do this, but my own rules prevent me from doing so." That is the complete antithesis of what Sonic stands for!

I'm gonna copypaste what I and a friend wrote in the IDW Sonic FAQ which I think is relevant:

--

“Why do you want Sonic to kill people so bad?”

There seems to be this common misconception that people who have an issue with Sonic’s “principles” would rather watch him kill in cold blood. That is not the point.

Sonic is a nuanced character who simply doesn’t have any “principles” when it comes to his enemies. He treats villains on a case-by-case basis: sometimes he takes them down without feeling sorry, such as Erazor Djinn. whom Sonic sealed in his own lamp and then threw into lava. Sometimes he first defeats them then comforts them, such as Merlina. Sometimes he takes a non-lethal approach, such as Chaos who was simply neutralized (it’s up to interpretation if he empathized with it or Sonic simply saw the situation  pragmatically). Eggman is a special case because of his plot armor that comes from being the franchise’s main antagonist, but his tendency to survive his encounters with Sonic can be easily explained as Eggman being very good at getting away: see below.

A violent Sonic is just as OOC as a Sonic that insists on letting enemies go in peace.

“Sonic spares Eggman.”

The “principle” of Sonic letting Eggman go is nothing more than Flynn’s attempt at a Watsonian explanation of a simple piece of storytelling that harkens back to the Genesis era: how come Eggman survives everything Sonic throws at him? The truth is, of course, that this is a cartoon series and Eggman is protected by his status as the main villain. If you really wanted to explain it logically, you’d have two options: Sonic always holds back and lets Eggman go… or Eggman is very good at surviving and escaping. And honestly, the second option sounds the most likely, because Sonic is shown to be near-ruthless when it comes to his archnemesis. Just a few examples:

Sonic 1: The player can control Sonic at the end of the Final Zone and they have the chance to attack Eggman one more time, watching him fall down in his exploding Egg Mobile. 

Sonic CD: In the bad ending, Sonic throws a rock at Eggman as he’s flying away, causing the Egg Mobile to explode.

Sonic Pocket Adventure: Super Sonic rams into Eggman at the end of Chaotic Space Zone, even as Eggman is visibly shaking his head and arms to say “please don’t”. 

Sonic Battle: In Cream’s story, she accidentally electrocutes Eggman, and Sonic mocks him all the while for his “new dance”.

Sonic Unleashed: At the end of the Egg Dragoon fight, Sonic takes the time to destroy the Egg Mobile and then throws Eggman in the general direction of the lava, again ignoring Eggman shaking his head and arms in fear.

Sonic Lost World: In the ending, Sonic sabotages Eggman’s jetpack and gleefully watches him fall down for miles.

Sonic Mania/Sonic Mania Plus: At the end of the Phantom Egg fight, Sonic leaves a panicking Eggman behind in the collapsing Titanic Monarch. In Plus, Super Sonic and the gang knock Eggman away into the Phantom Ruby-caused wormhole right behind them.

And this is not counting the many instances of Sonic leaving Eggman for dead, from the Death Egg’s implosion in Sonic 2 to Eggman being sucked into a black hole in Colors, or particularly gruesome fates that are played for laughs, like sinking into a pool of lava after S3&K’s Lava Reef boss or being cut by the Screw Mobile’s turbines in Mania’s Hydrocity miniboss. Clearly, cartoon series or not, Sonic has no regard for the life of his archnemesis.

The only instance in which Sonic actually stood there and watched Eggman escape was in the ending of his own campaign in Sonic Adventure 1. And even then, that was quickly rectified in the ending of the Last Story, where Sonic starts chasing Eggman again almost immediately after neutralizing Chaos.

(Sonic Adventure 2 doesn’t count. Gerald’s plan and Shadow’s death distracted everyone, with good reason)